Lauren Davis

Space porn connaisseurs are really spoiled today. Any time, any place, we can enjoy hot planetary action, peek in on writhing solar flares, or catch a glimpse of exotic star-on-star-on-planet relationships. But in the days before taking photos of space was a relatively simple proposition, astronomy buffs had to get their kicks with hand-drawn space porn.

All these gorgeous illustrations come from the French artist and astronomer Étienne Léopold Trouvelot.